This partial biography of Robinson's first forty years presents a new Robinson - not the 'Black Robinson' of Rae-Ellis, James Bonwick, John West and James Erskine Calder, nor the 'White Robinson' of Mark Twain - but a 'Grey Robinson', a grey robin with a red breast.

Out of the Bottle contains tips and basic methods for the novice home preserver of fruit and vegetables, as well as a collection of Sally Wise's favourite preserving recipes and the dishes in which they play an integral part.

For the author, Pete Hay, home matters, in this case Tasmania. He might be descended from a Point Puer convict boy and be the son of a legend of Australia's 2/40th 'Tasmanian' Battalion, but he does not claim belonging to Tasmania as a birthright: "You don't inherit a place" he tells us, "you commit to it."

A book about newspapers and the power of the press to sway opinion. The main narrative voice is that of W.C., a hapless war correspondent, posted to Tasmania to cover the conflict between the Pakana people of Lutruwita and the British, from 1814 to 1856.